Device for packing cotton



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. DE WITT G. 4SUMMERS.

DEVICE FOR PAGKING COTTON, 8vo.'

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

DE WITT C. SUMMERS.

DEVICE FOR PACKING COTTON, &c.

No. 280,333. I Patented June 26, 1883.

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UNITED STATES@ j PATENT Y OFFICE..

Dnwrrfr o. sUMMERs, or sUMMnRs inILLs, Texas.

DEVICE FOR PACKING COTTON, 86C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,333, dated June 26,1883.

` Application filed May 15, lass. No model.)

, for Packing Cotton or other Material, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to machines or devices for packing andcompressing cotton and other material in press-boxes; and it consists incertain improvements in the construction of the same, which willbehereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings hereto annexed, Figure lis a perspective view of apress-box havingmy invention attached in position for operation. Fig. 2is a vertical sectional view of the same, taken centrally through thepress-box. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view,and Fig. `5 is a perspective view of the packer or follower detached.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

A in the drawings designates the press-box, which may be of any suitableconstruction. The follower of the press proper and the means or powerfor operating the same are not shown in the drawings hereto annexed, andthey form no part of my present invention. The pressbox is provided atits four corners with upwardlyprojecting angular guides B B, supportinga top piece or cap, C. The latter is provided with a central opening,I),V through.

which slides a rack-bar, E, carrying at its lower end a follower, F,which slides vertically between the guides or angular uprights B B. Thesaid follower, or packen as I prefer to call it, Vis provided withopenings or perforations G G, through which the air, compressed in thepress-box by the rapid and forcible descent of said packer, may escape.The sides and ends of the packer or follower are provided with recessesHe, in which downwardlyfprojecting fiat blades I Iare secured, whichsaid blades will be fitted nicely against the inner sides and ends ofthe press-box, and be sharpened at their lower ends or edges, and to theunder side or surface of the packer are secured one or more'rows ofblunt pegs or stampers, J, of about the same length as Jthe blades I. I

To the upper side of the cap C, back of the d .opening D, is secured ablock, K, having bearings for the action of a friction-pulley, L,bearing against the rear side of the rack-bar E, and enabling the latterto move freely up and down.

M is a shaft arranged in front of the raclr bar E, and having its outerend j ournaled in a bracket, N, at one end of the cap C. The inner endof the said shaft is journaled in a transversely-sliding head-block, O,secured to the cap C by means of screws or bolts passing through slotsin the said head-block.

P is a lever connected pivotally with the rear ceive a belt, by means ofwhich power maybe conveyed to the said shaft.

To the upper end ofthe rack-bar E is attachedV a rope, V, ruiming over apulleyNV, journaled in a suitable bracket under the ceiling of thebuilding where the press is located, and having at its other end aweight, X, which will overbalance the weight of the packer and rack-bar.This cord an d weight may be sometimes dispensed with, as will behereinafter stated.

It will be seen that by means of the levers It and I the head-block KInay be moved, so as to bring the end of the shaft M, carrying pinion T,toward or from the rack-bar E, as may be desired7 or, in other words,solas to throw the said pinion into or out of engagement with the saidrack-bar, as may be desired. When the pinion engages the rack, itwilldrive the ,latter and the packer rapidly and forcibly in a downwarddirection.- -Vhen it is thrown out of engagement, the weight X willoverhalance and rapidly lift the same until -stopped by contact with thecap-plate C. I'Vhen in this position, the packer, with its blades andstampers, should be raised sufficiently above the upper edge of thepress-box to enable the cotton or other material which is to be pressedto be conveniently thrown into the box. The packer maythen be loweredone or more times, so as to packor stamp the material thrown in.

IOO

The operation may then be repeated as often as necessary until the presscontains a suflicient quantity of material to form a bale, which maythen be compressed in the usual manner.

When desired, the rope and weight may be dispensed with, and the powerconveyed to the shaft M be employed to raise or lift the rack andpacker, which may then be allowed to drop by its own weight, so as topack the contents in the press-box. In this case the packer may besuitably weighted. The sharp, nat blades at the sides and ends of thepacker will serve to loosen the material from the sides of thepress-box, thereby avoiding excessive friction, while the stampers andthe body of the packer or follower serve to pack the material ascompactly as is necessary.

By this device, which is simple, inexpensive, and easily operated, thelabor of one or two 1men may be dispensed with, and the labor of packingbe performed in less time and in a more satisfactory manner.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States- 1. The combination, with a press-box havingupwardly-projecting angular guides, of a vertically-sliding packer orfollower, provided at' its sides and ends' with downwardly-projectingflat, sharp blades, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a press-box, of a vertically-sliding follower,provided at its sides and ends with downwardlyprojecting iiat, sharpblades, and having 011e or more rows of blunt pegs or stampersprojecting downwardly from its under side, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with a press-box, of a vertically-sliding packer orfollower having perforations for the escape of the air comthe saidpinion into and out of engagement with the said rack, and mechanism forlifting the rack and packer when released from the pinion, substantiallyas set forth.

5. The combination of the press-box having upwardly-projecting angularguides, the cappiece, the vertically-sliding rack having the follower orpacker, a friction-roller bearing .against the rear side of said rack, ashaft ai ranged in front of the rack, and having oneV end journaled inabracket and the other in a transverselysliding head-block, a leverpivot ed to the side of the press-box, and a lever fulcrumed rear of therack-bar, and connected pivotally with the sliding head-block, and withthe upper end of the lever pivoted to the side ofthe box, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

DEVVI'IT C. SUMMERS. lVitnesses:

F. D. BANNING, W. B. GREENLEE.

